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Aspen sheds R18.5bn on sale of baby milk business

The unit was sold to French dairy giant Lascalis for $860m, short of the $1bn-$1.5bn the market expected

14 September 2018 - 05:09

An Aspen Pharmacare building. Picture: YOLISWA SOBUWA

Africa’s biggest drug manufacturer Aspen Pharmacare shed R18.5bn of its value on Thursday after the market took a dim view of the price it got for the sale of its infant milk business, and its reported earnings, which fell short of expectations.

Aspen’s share price took its biggest intraday knock in two decades, plunging as much as 26% before recovering to close 14.8% lower at R232.06, leaving its market capitalisation at R105.9bn.

The one-day decline dwarfs the market value of local drug maker Adcock Ingram, which is worth R11.1bn.